


A Light-Hearted Nature

by Rae_Kid



Category: Naruto
Genre: Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Reincarnation, Self-Insert
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-03-17
Updated: 2015-03-25
Packaged: 2018-03-18 07:00:10
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 3
Words: 6,554
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3560453
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Rae_Kid/pseuds/Rae_Kid
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>She shouldn't have been as surprised as she was when she realized where she'd ended up. After all, she'd spent a decade of another life obsessing over this world. This was like a dream come true, except she knows it isn't. The Naruto world isn't for the weak-willed and Hikari Nara knows that that's exactly what she is. There isn't time to hesitate, though, because there's very little room for error and if she wants all of the people she cares about to make it out alive, she's gotta learn to think hard and dream big. After all, she's up against a thousand-year-old grudge, a power-hungry mad scientist with a snake fetish, and a twistedly patriotic traitor with his hands in WAY too many cookie jars. Sounds impossible, right? Then why is it that a room full of ambitious children scares her more?</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. All the Pretty Colors...

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Deshah](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Deshah/gifts).



> This is my first fanfiction. Well, second, but Outside Looking In was posted literally seconds before this one, so I guess they're BOTH my first? However that works. Anyway, expect it to be a little rough and don't be surprised if I make a few changes along the way. I've put a LOT more thought into this one than I have into Outside Looking In, but it's also the one I've been having the most trouble with as far as setting everything up, so yeah. I do take suggestions, in fact I WELCOME suggestions. And also formatting advice. Until I get some, treat all CAPTIALIZED words like they're italicized. Annoying, I know, but it's the best I can do for now.
> 
> Enjoy!

Dying was weird. One minute I was in my body, on scalding hot pavement and everything was too BRIGHT and the people around me were too LOUD and it HURT. God it hurt SO MUCH. I felt something leaving me, something I NEEDED, no, NO I DON'T LIKE THIS MAKE IT STOP MAKE IT STOPMAKEITESTOPMAKEIT-!

Then, I fell asleep.

That's really what it was like. My thoughts boiled as I slept, random snippets of memory and musings floating to the surface at a whim and I didn't give a damn about the content. Somehow it WASN'T MY PROBLEM anymore. It DIDN'T MATTER because they weren't mine. I felt like laughing because I felt lighter now, like floating on water and not having to worry I'd drown. Colors flashed brighter, they were happy and I didn't know how I knew that but it felt like they were welcoming me. It was… psychedelic somehow, actually, in between the sheets of black. They twisted and turned in such strange patterns…

Curious I reached out to touch, making as if to move my body, but it wasn't there. Something stretched, though, in response to my fleeting impulse and it was… strange. It felt like something deep inside was burning, but it'd always been burning and I just never knew. White like the sun glaring off snow first thing in the morning but warm and bubbly, giggles on my lips, happiness bubbling in my chest. Flashes of pink seemed to scold me, I'd forgotten all about the white stuff and it made me sad to think I'd always been so blind… before. What came before this? I couldn't remember, but it felt red. 

Red… such a pretty color, but white might just be my favorite now because it GIGGLES and that makes me want to smile and spin in circles. Giddy, I made to move around again but when the white moved I got BIGGER and boy did THAT feel weird, like putting on glasses for the first time, and now the colors were ME. They really liked the white stuff and pulled in real close 'til I was a big ball of pulsating color in a void of… nothing. Everything was black and I pouted because black is BORING. Sure it's kickass and dangerous but it never DOES anything and… wow, what is that blue? I never saw a blue like that before, and is that YELLOW? Why does yellow always go with the purple bits?

Wait. No. Focus. I was thinking about the black nothing, right? Except it wasn't all black anymore, there were more swirls of color moving around me and lots of them were GREEN and isn't that great? But I don't have green, and I WANT it, green is soft like kitten fur and strong like tree trunks and it MOVES. Everywhere there's green and it's better because green's more interesting than black but it's moving strangely right there, what is that? Oh! There's another ball over there and oh, what are they thinking wearing that much GREY? Grey's almost as bad as black, ha! They must be so jealous, I don't see any white over there at all! So sad…

BUMP

Well, what was that? It was something that wasn't me but it wasn't green and… oh, hi there neighbor! Awfully close there, aren't you? Fond of white too, good for you. Not as much as me, but you'll get there some day. See all this pretty white here… wait, what's that? I don't think I tried to move anything, so why is there white sticking between me and my neighbor here? Must've been the bump. Sigh, well, never say that I'm not generous, I'll share some with you, cause I really like that orange you got there. I don't think I have very much of that just like I don't have…

GREEN! That's right, I don't have green and it's horrible because green is so pretty and it'd go so well with those tiny specks of blue… Would anyone mind if I grabbed some? I mean, it's everywhere and nobody else seems to have it ANYWHERE, maybe there's some rule or something? I've never been good at following rules when I want something as much as this so I'll just… just reach out there and…

Woah, head rush! Well hello there feeling, it's been a while how've you been and OUCH! No, no, no, no, no, NO, NO! I wanted the GREEN but now there's too much RED and they DON'T go together at ALL and no, where are all my pretty colors going I thought I said I don't like black…

Huh. It doesn't hurt anymore, but where did all the colors go? Actually, it feels warm too, and what's that sound? It seems familiar and it's making me so sleepy with that rhythm, it goes like… thump-thump, thump-thump, thump-thump, thump. Making me… sleepy…

 

I slept for a long time but for once it felt normal, not the euphoric high I'd been on before… what was that? It was so… surreal. The strangeness had yet to end, however, because even while I slept I was aware to some extent, able to think clearly and mull over the last moments of my death. Stupid really, an unremarkable end to an unremarkable person, a date with destiny and a Ford pickup truck on my way to college. I ALWAYS look both ways, and the one time I'm in too much of a rush to do so, how am I rewarded? Death. Not a pretty death either.

So if that was death, what's going on now? My mind sort of wandered all over the place, picking apart my memories and where exactly everything went wrong because I hadn't died the person I'd wanted to be, calm, intelligent, witty and strong. No, I'd been the worst kind of slacker, afraid to take any sort of responsibility for fear I'd fail, and now I no longer have the chance. I always thought I'd have time to change my act, I'd do better in the future, everything would be fine, but here I am fresh out of 'laters' and regretting every minute I wasted.

As I lamented my past stupidity, however, pictures popped up that I didn't recognize. Blurry, overly bright, and way too big, a person's giant face hanging over me. A soft voice, a stuffed toy that looked remarkably like Pakkun, a body next to mine when I roll over… is that a crib?

Startled, I focused on that one, pulling it to the front of my mind, but all of a sudden darkness closed over it like a shutter. It held on for a second, then the picture came back again in reverse, slowly revealed from the bottom up. As if my interest caught it's attention, the picture came closer like a camera zooming in and as it did I felt heavier. I hadn't been aware until then of my lack of gravity, but suddenly I had limbs. I could FEEL them, pressed against a flat surface that almost tickled with how soft it was.

"Ā, kanojo wa waraida, mite!" Woah, who was that voice? Was that… japanese? Where am I? All I can see are bars and white sheets, and my head feels too heavy to move! What's happening?! Scared as hell, I try to move an arm and am rewarded by seeing it flop into my line of vision, except…

It's way too tiny to be mine.

Okay, no, there has to be an explanation for this. Like, an out of body experience, or a dream maybe. There's no way this is real!

"Anata wa, kanojo ga daijōbu ni narudarou to omoimasu ka?" That voice! It must be that blurry figure behind the bars, the giant I saw earlier! Oh, oh no, I don't like where this is going, because if I died earlier and I'm waking up here now in a baby's body, that means…

Reincarnation is a thing. Spectacular.

"Shinpaishinaide, kanojo wa sentōkida. Chōdo kanojo no okāsan ga sukidesu." Huh, I liked that voice. It was slow and sort of… slid around in a kind of lazy drawl.

"Anata dake no watashi no yoi soba ni shutoku shiyou to shite iru!" Youch, I could tell that voice liked to be loud. Is that how I sounded in my old life?

"Sore wa shinjitsude wa nai to iu imide wa arimasen. Matawa watashi wa sore o shinjite inai koto."

Huh.

Well, at least I'd get a second chance. I'd do something totally kickass with my life, make myself into someone that, even if I don't necessarily like, I can at least face in the mirror. I'm tired of waiting around for life to happen, I'm going to make them happen and do it my way.

Panic over. Crisis averted. Everything proceed as usual, usual being… lying around I guess. I'm a baby so, I guess I'll have to get used to that. I stretched some, loving the feeling of having a body, when I felt something hit my side lightly. Curious, I managed the ENORMOUS effort it took to move my head and found myself face to face with an absolutely adorable baby boy. Guess this means I'm a twin! That's pretty cool, but wait… if he's a boy, then am I even a girl?

 

I am, in fact, a girl. I found this out when I had my first experience with diaper changes. Honestly, I didn't mind all that much because, well, these are my parents here, putting in all this effort to keep me clean and happy. Cooing at me in their freakin' hard to learn japanese, spending all this effort on me. I could've ended up with someone who doesn't give a damn, or with no one at all, I'm not going to complain if it gets a bit embarrassing sometimes. I'm alive! Life is good.

Except… well, it felt weird. Inside me there was this strange feeling, it felt like… well, it felt white. Like before in my colorscape when I was in that strange place high off my rocker. Sort of… energizing? Like being tickled from the inside and it NEVER STOPS.

Actually, now that I'm thinking about it I can feel that sort of thrumming in the air, like there was something extra there my eyes kept straining to see. My senses kept telling me I should be seeing MORE, that if I just pushed hard enough…

Pop.

Holy shit! Head rush! Damn, look at all the colors! There aren't as many there and a lot more blank space than that one time but if I focus a little harder I can just barely see strips of green on top of the normal scenery. It gave me a huge headache though, and on feeling even just that tiny bit of pain my body, of course, reacted. Cue the water works.

Ah, here come the 'rents. Damn, looks like I woke Mom up, and my brother too because there's some sniffling going on behind me and it sounds almost offended. Oh, look at those circles under her pretty black eyes, I feel really bad now. I HATE being sleep deprived, and trust me, I pretty much lived in the state my entire senior year of high school.

Cooing what to me sounded like nonsense, she picked me up gently and started bouncing a bit even as my brother settled down behind me with a quiet huff. Her arms were warm, the long sleeves of her nightgown felt nice against my skin, soft as silk. Strands of her enviably long, black hair fell into my eyes and I blew at them with a huff that made her laugh and pull back to look at my face. Large, black eyes, straight black hair so smooth and shiny I almost couldn’t believe it was real, flawless tan skin hiding prominent muscles, she was beautiful. Is she really my mother? I couldn't wait to get to a mirror. Almost reverently I patted her cheek with my chubby little baby hand and she smiled.

Abruptly my mind shifted, and everything became more INTENSE. The light burned my eyes, every creak or groan or whisper of wind was a sledgehammer to my brain, my nose felt like it had freezer burn, making my eyes water. The world jumped out at me DEMANDING attention and It. Was. Too. MUCH! I screamed until my throat felt raw and longer as streaks of warmth dripped slowly from my eyes and ears. The last sound I heard before I passed out was Mom's voice, shrill, demanding, and terrified.


	2. Rude Awakenings

The first time I saw Dad wearing a hitai-ate, I almost screamed. Whether in fear or in excitement on a primal, fangirl level, I'm not sure, because at the time both were crashing through me like the meeting of two tsunamis.

Before that I'd never gotten a close enough look to see anything beyond that he had spiky black hair and eyes, because unlike Mom who loved to coddle and coo and tickle us to death (though largely ignored by my brother) Dad was a bit uneasy with us. Now, though, I could see the scars on his face, running diagonally on his right to meet his hairline. Shikaku Nara is my father.

What even is my life?

This, of course, means that the pudgy-cheeked little angel sleeping next to me is Shikamaru, which meant… Well. I have a feeling this second life is going to be interesting.

I broke down into a crying fit, of course. Being a baby means that there are certain reactions that just bypass the brain entirely, so my automatic reaction to any sort of negative emotion is tears. Crying fits are just so DRAINING, physically and emotionally, and to have one every time I have to go to the bathroom or eat is just so exhausting, not to mention the guilt I feel at seeing the dark circles under Mom's eyes, and Shikaku's too, now that I can see his face.

Before I could really get started, though, I felt rough fingers on my cheek, callouses strange against my too sensitive skin. The fingers shook, and I realized that maybe it wasn't just the late night wake-up call that carved the exhaustion into the lines of his face. The eyes, they said everything really, that they weren't half lidded in the typical lazy calm but wide and unblinking scared me. A mission, that has to be it. Something went wrong.

Right, there's THIS aspect of ninja life. The one that civilians and Naruto fans alike try to ignore. Thousand yard stares and the instinctual flinching away from human contact. Coming home covered in blood that is as much other peoples' as it is your own, working through pain because your life is on the line and there are people waiting for you at home. Except when there aren't any, because the very system you strive to protect actively plots against your happiness and the only kind of emotional comfort you can find is throwing yourself into even more missions in the hopes that you'll end up dying at the enemy's hands rather than your own.

Lies and tricks are a shinobi standard, the very basis of their way of life, but there are just too many lies in this world. Too many things that were left unsaid to poison the innocence and happiness of children. If someone just told the truth, if someone just cared enough to notice there was something wrong, how much suffering would've been avoided?

My heart hurt at the thought, thinking of people in pain at this very moment who have no one to turn to, no one to save them. Whatever it was that happened to put that look on Dad's face must've been terrible to break through a Nara poker face, to wrest away a jounin's iron control of their emotions, and he came here for comfort. I didn't hesitate to hold my arms out for him, and he needed no further urging to pick me up and hold me, as if to reassure himself that I was okay. That there were still good things in the world.

I could smell the death on him, the heavy iron smell of blood and choking scent of burning ink and ash. Breathing easy and measured, I could nonetheless read the tension in the lines of his body, heard the rattling hiss of pain against my ear that had me squirming in his grip to get far enough away to see him and look him over for injury. Obligingly he let me pull back a bit, and I couldn't hold back a whimper at what I saw.

Covered, he was covered in blood. So much his flak jacket was barely recognizable as such, burn holes exposing the black tee he had on underneath. On his shoulders I saw cuts that went straight through both layers, weeping a slow, steady trickle of blood. 

'Must've been a grazing blow, kunai probably…' my mind supplied as it tried to process everything. I tried to school my face when I felt his heavy black eyes on me, studying, but I just… I couldn't get over the sight of so much blood, everywhere. Enough that the owner- owners?- were undoubtedly dead. Dead by the hands of the man who held me in his arms, panic on his face at the sight of me, covered in blood. I pulled my hand away from his chest where I'd unconsciously clutched at the cloth and marveled at how bright the red was, even in the scant moonlight pouring through the window beside the crib.

When he tensed again, my eyes went back to his face, noticing how PALE he was, compared to the color his hands are normally. There was a sort of glazed, detached look to his eyes that told me he was even then fighting pain, but even so I could see the sharp intellect cataloguing my every move. The HORROR in his eyes then, the sadness that gave his dark eyes an extra hundred pounds, it HURT. Somewhere deep in my chest there was a sharp pain that made my eyes want to well up in tears, but I was too worried to let them go.

I was not a strong person, I knew that full well. I couldn't deal with pain, couldn't stick to my goals or pursue my dreams. Refused, terrified, to give up the creature comforts that let me lock my fear away in a small box I could ignore and shove to the back of my mind. I wasn't brave, I wasn't smart. I was not a strong woman and I knew that.

But this man in front of me, he's hurting inside. He turned to me in the middle of the night for comfort, before even having his wounds tended, because the pain inside is much more than the wounds he's bleeding from. I can help him, I can help THEM, and they need me like no one has ever needed me before. Like no one has even WANTED me before, and I know I can't turn away. Not when the little boy sleeping next to me every night is going to be a murderer some day. Not when my baby brother is going to hold his dead teacher in his arms eventually if I do.

In all the fanfictions I've ever read they made such a big deal about choice. Some of them just chose to try to ignore everything that happens because they reasoned that everything's going to work out alright in the end anyway, right? That was unacceptable to me. Seeing Shikaku torn, bloodied, and so, so sad right in front of me, I knew I never had a choice. I couldn't live with myself if I ignored this. To ninja or not to ninja, that was never the question.

Slowly, not breaking eye contact, I leaned forward to hug him again. Gingerly and gently as I knew how to be, avoiding touching the cuts and squeezing too hard. Surprise, suspicion, exhaustion, and then he clutched me harder, not enough to hurt, but some sort of desperate all the same. I listened for his heartbeat for reassurance, noting that he swayed slightly. I thought it was to soothe me, but seconds later I was back in the crib, watching as he staggered and fell to the floor unconscious.

So I did what babies do best: I screamed bloody murder. I screamed so loud my ears were ringing and Shikamaru was jolted awake to join me, and Mom came running. Slamming the paper door and probably breaking it for good measure, she blanched at the sight of Dad on the ground and me covered in blood, and then she was MOVING and there were two of her shooting out the window carrying her family to the hospital at a speed that would put the Yellow Flash to shame.


	3. Abnormality

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I've decided I may add a few chapters before this, maybe. Depends if I can find it in myself to write cute little baby scenes. Let me tell you, writing kids is _hard _! Wish me luck.__

I waited, breathing lightly and evenly, keeping absolutely still. Gradually my body started to stiffen in it's rigid crouching stance and I cursed at my target in my mind. What's taking him so long? I swore to myself that as soon as my objective was complete I'd go to Dad and ask him about the methods the experienced ninja use to keep loose in long-term surveillance missions. Or maybe just look it up myself. Whenever I ask him a question he usually just refers me to some book anyway.

The paper door begins to slide open, my target is revealed, and I almost don't realize when my mouth slides into a bloodthirsty grin. I want to pounce immediately, but I force myself to wait because at this distance he has time to see me coming. One step, two, three and he's still far away and in no hurry to come closer. He pauses at a wooden beam, and for a moment I think he's spotted me so I hold my breath, but with a simple shrug of the shoulders he continues on and I see my chance.

I _pounce _, and he jerks back with a startled squawk, falling into a defensive stance. He blocks my low kick to his knees, but is too slow to dodge the jab to the bridge of his nose. Immediately he jumps back to get some distance and attempt to recover, but I refuse to give him that and follow with a sharp leap to the right, forcing him towards the wall and giving me room to maneuver. I try an elbow to his ribs but he catches it, and instead I use his momentum to spin around and slam into his hip, successfully throwing him off balance enough to throw him over my shoulder to land safely on a nearby bush.__

He groans as I laugh triumphantly, doing my little happy dance. "Hikari, what the hell?"

"Ha! I got you, Shika! You should've been paying attention!"

"That doesn't mean you should ambush me!" He sits up slowly, prodding at his face with a wince. "This is gonna bruise. What a draaaaag."

I pouted at him. "Well I wouldn't have gone so hard on you if you hadn't taken so long! You know how long I waited for you?"

He gaped at me. "And that's _my _fault? It's not like I knew you were there! Why the surprise attack, anyway? You could've just asked me to spar, troublesome woman."__

My hands went to my hips and I scowled at him. "I _do _! You always say no, and neither of us are gonna get better that way! So I decided, I'm gonna do surprise attacks and you're never gonna see them coming!"__

Behind me someone laughed, and I turned to see Dad leaning against the doorframe, amused. He quirked an eyebrow. "Ehhh, sounds like fun. Good idea, actually. Mind if I help out?"

Oh, crap. I backpedaled fast. "Ah, no, that's okay Dad! You know, on second thought that's a bad idea! I'll just go and practice by myself in the dojo! Yeah, let's do that!" 

My attempts at a strategic withdraw fell flat when he caught my shoulders. "Maaa, don't sell yourself short. It's a good idea to get you used to ambushes and improve your reaction times." He smiled in a way that reminded me of when he got caught in my prank last time and I barely resisted the urge to run away. I glanced at Shika to find him glaring at me and mouthed an apology. His glare only darkened.

"Anyway, I was coming to find you brats so we could start some extra special training." We perked up at that, though Shika was less obvious about it.

"Is it a super awesome jutsu that make stuff 'splode?" I asked eagerly, already having a hunch on what he was going to teach us.

He smirked. "Eh, something like that." Leading us to the heart of the forest, I was practically skipping in excitement. I was finally going to learn a jutsu! Dad's given me plenty of books to read before but he was extra careful when hiding the ones with jutsu in them, so all I could do so far was work on my physical condition and try my hand at chakra control exercises, which weren't going well at all.

We went further into the forest than we'd ever gone before, past the deer huts and further on in until I could barely sense anyone in the compound. I never thought the forest was this big, and I took the opportunity to map out the area on the way. The deeper we got, the thicker and more active the nature energy, until I had to consciously block out my chakra sense so I wasn't blinded. Finally, after what seemed like forever, we came upon a stone circle surrounded by raw chunks of the same rock arranged in rectangular arches. There were about nine of them, each column rough and uncarved but vibrating to my chakra sense to an uncomfortable degree. In the middle of the paved circle was a monolith, smooth and polished and carved with pictures, the most prominent one being a man meditating, his hands in a very familiar contemplative circle as his shadows stretched out beneath him.

Shikamaru went still at my side, eyes glued to the monolith with an expression akin to wonder. "Tou-san," he said, his voice uncharacteristically breathy, "what _is _that?"__

Dad seemed a bit surprised at the reaction too. "This is a special place to the Nara clan. A sacred place." His voice took on the theatrical tone of one telling an important legend. "It is said that when the Naras first learned to touch the shadows many couldn't handle the power and slipped into madness, consumed by the shadows. Very few survived the encounter but even they struggled, for the darkness they called upon was no mere shadow but the darkness of their souls. Only when we at last knew peace from the constant warring of the founding clans was it that a man named Shikamaru, the greatest of our clan at the time, sought a way to free us from the curse of madness. New come to Konoha, he felt the great power of the forest and felt a great peace overtake him, leading him to it's heart. It was here that he searched the depths of his soul and found a balance between the two, a calm to counter the turbulent chaos that was greed, hate, and jealousy. The forest has been ours since that day, and since then every member of our clan has been brought here to learn the way of the shadows. I named you after him, Shikamaru." Shika looked up at him, awed, and then his gaze snapped back to the clearing, unusually alert for him.

I stared at it with renewed interest, noting the way the trees around it seemed to lean inwards and how, when I activated my chakra sense for a brief, blinding moment, all of the green nature energy flowed to this point. It must be a ley line, I realized, but of nature energy instead of tectonic plates. We approached the edge, me warily and Shika eagerly. The energy it gave off was uncomfortable to me, itchy and alien, and for a moment when we crossed through one of the arches, I expected it to reject me, like a force field. It let me through, but reluctantly, with just a hint of resistance.

I frowned and turned to Dad, uneasy. "Tou-san, this place doesn't like me. It _itches _." They both blinked at me in surprise.__

"It doesn't feel like that to me." Shika said dreamily, his eyes a million miles away. "It feels… really nice… warm all over and kind of… quiet."

"Well, it doesn't like me!" I snapped, feeling more and more apprehensive the closer we got to the center. "Tou-san, don't make me stay!"

One of the corners of his mouth dipped down in what was for him a deep frown. "It'll be fine, kid. It's not going to hurt you."

I fidgeted, but complied when he had us sit down criss cross in from of the stone. I felt like something was watching me, some higher being passing judgment and finding me wanting. The collage of leaf shadows across my skin felt heavy and I wanted to move into the sunshine but I held steady, forcing myself to at least try.

"Now, I want you to hold completely still and look for your chakra. It will feel similar to this place, but inside you, somewhere in your stomach. Don't try to move it, just look for it and tell me what you find."

I knew how to find it, but my chakra felt nothing like that. Still, I obliged, reaching out to stroke it with my mind and finding to my surprise that unlike when I tried to manipulate it earlier it didn't shy away from my touch. It was the opposite from the vibes this place was giving off, comfortably cool to the touch and bright, light and kind of buzzy, like a kid on a sugar high. "Found it, Tou-san."

From next to me Shika murmured, "Me too." He sounded odd, sort of… distant? There was an echo in his words, barely perceptible.

Dad didn't seem to hear it. "Good. Now, imagine that chakra is a ball of yarn and take a piece- just a little bit- and try to push it through your feet and into your shadow."

I hesitated, some warning signal going off inside me. The sense I was being watched tripled, as did the feeling of disapproval I felt coming from the invisible being presiding over us from above. Instead I cautiously used my chakra sense while my eyes were still closed and observed the energy around Shika, seeing how the nature chakra that migrated to this place was now focused on him in particular. I'd never noticed before, but there was a green echo to his chakra just like mine but dimmer, and it seemed to pull in the ambient chakra like a lightning rod. Alarmed, I opened my actual eyes and saw nothing out of the ordinary except that his shadow was darker, a lot darker, like a fathomless pit beneath him. Dad was watching him carefully too, his eyes wider than usual, probably in surprise.

"That's really good, Shika. You're a natural at this." He didn't say it, but I sensed the word genius hovering around his lips and was suddenly concerned. Geniuses don't fare well in this world, and I wasn't about to let Shikamaru be pulled into that nonsense and worked to the bone. Dad's eyes caught mine and seemed to read my concern and defiance in them, because he inclined his head gravely and I let myself relax. We both silently agreed to keep this secret to protect him. Then his head snapped back to Shika and he barked, "Not too far, Shika! Go too deep and it gets dangerous!" A slap to them back of his head brought him out of it, but Shika didn't act like he usually did and complain about it. Instead he blinked like he was just waking up from a really intense dream and looked startled.

"That's good for a first attempt. Now, let's let your sister try." I frowned, biting my lip at the attention.

"Dad, I really don't think I should. It feels… wrong."

They both frowned at me, annoyed. "Just give it a try, kid. Nothing's gonna happen, I'll make sure of that."

Reluctantly, I did as he asked. Closing my eyes, I found my wellspring of power like before and took a moment to feel out it's subtle vibrations. It really was different from what I did before when trying to use chakra. I'd never taken the time to just look at it and feel where _it _wanted to go. Carefully I reached out and caught just a pinch of it, pulling it away from the main mass that I visualized as a ball in my mind. For a moment everything was fine and it followed my will easily, but when I started trying to pull it through my feet it fought and broke free of my hold and went everywhere, pulsing through my skin. I opened my eyes in a panic to see my skin glowing brightly for just a second, before the presence hovering in the air seized and I flew, ejected from the circle as my chakra seemed to burn before Dad caught me with an oomph and a curse.__

Scared, I started to cry. "Tou-san, w-what was that? I t-tol' you it didn' l-like me! Tou-san, it huuurts!" To my embarrassment, I started to cry into his shoulder.

I felt him tense awkwardly for a moment before he relaxed, rubbing slow, soothing circles into my back. "Shhh, calm down, Kari-chan. Everything's okay. I should've listened to you, but I didn't think it would hurt you like that."

I looked up at his calculating face, vision blurry from tears. "Then, w-what was that?"

His frown pulled sideways as he thought about it. "I don't really know. There have been Nara who didn't have a dark affinity before, but they were never rejected by the circle like that."

"D-dark 'finity?" I hiccupped, confused. I never heard about anything like this before. Shika came to stand next to us, listening silently with a look of intense concentration on his face.

"It's how we manipulate the shadows." He explained, voice taking on a slight lecturing tone. "Everyone has an affinity to a certain element or elements at birth that determine what kind of jutsu is easiest for us to use: water, fire, earth, wind, and lightning. Given enough time and energy, we could master and use any element if we wanted, though it'd take a lot of work, but what very few people know is that there are a separate set of affinities everyone is born with that only a small number of people can use. They're very different from the normal affinities, because nobody can learn them, they have to be born with them. We call these our base affinities: light, dark, space, time, and soul. Most people can't use their base affinity because it's not strong enough and there's no way to really strengthen it so it's useless. Mostly where you'll see it is in unique chakra traits and in the slight differences there are between two people casting the same jutsu, how each one comes out a little different. The Nara clan, though, has a very strong dark affinity, leaving us able to manipulate shadows, our kekei genkai."

I sniffled, tears stopping as curiosity made me forget the pain. "So why did the circle not like me?"

Dad frowned again, a contemplative look in his eyes. He carried me a little ways away from the circle to where the feeling of wrongness wasn't quite so oppressive and sat me down. "Kari-chan, why don't you try what you did before, with your chakra."

I jumped. "B-but-!"

He a confident gave me a look. "It's okay, we're far enough away from the Shadow Circle that it shouldn't do anything. Give it a try."

I really didn't want to, but I once again grabbed for my chakra and opened my eyes to see that I got the same result: my skin was glowing with a faint white light. I tensed, waiting to be ejected again, but when nothing happened I relaxed slightly. "It's so pretty…" I cooed, and looked up to find Shika gaping at me and Dad giving me the same look he had when Shika's shadow got so dark. Like I was doing something amazing.

"I've never seen this before. I don't know how it's possible, but Hikari, it looks like you have a light affinity. A strong one, too, or the Shadow Circle wouldn't have rejected you so strongly."

I felt my forehead crease with confusion. There wasn't anyone like that in the anime! Did it have something to do with my reincarnation messing things up? "What does that mean tou-san? Will I get super cool light powers like nii-chan gets with his shadows?" Because that would be so awesome.

"I don't know, Kari-chan. No one in our clan has ever had powers like these before. This might be an entirely new kekei genkai, and if it's true then you'll probably have to figure it out on your own."

Are you kidding me?! Getting a unique kekei genkai is cool and everything, but having to figure it out on my own? The Nara shadow techniques have been refined over hundreds of years, and they still take a lifetime to master! Essentially, I'm fumbling around in the metaphorical dark without anyone to teach me, making things up on my own while Shika and all the other clan kids get spoon fed their clan techniques, leaving me at a disadvantage. Speaking of clan techniques…

"Does that mean that the 'Kimichi clan's got a space 'finity?"

Dad quirked an approving eyebrow. "Yeah, that's right. And the Yamanakas have a soul affinity, which is why our clans are so important in Konoha. There aren't many ninja with such a clear base affinity, and even fewer that pass it down to their children. To have not one, but three families with such strong affinities in one village and working together so closely is basically like winning the lottery."

Opening my mouth to question him further, I yawn instead, the strain of actively using my chakra for the first time crashing over me in a wave of exhaustion. Beside me Shikamaru does the same, rubbing at his eyes blearily with a tiny little fist and a grumpy expression that may just be the most adorable thing I've ever seen. With a small half-smile Dad scoops us up and shushes the questions that bubble to my lips even in my semi-catatonic state and turns to the house. My feelings of frustration carrying over even to my sleep, I reach over and grab one of Shikamaru's hands for reassurance and use it like a pillow against my cheek as I drifted off.

**Author's Note:**

> I got the japanese dialogue off of Google translate because I know jack shit about japanese. If someone who DOES know japanese find it to be inaccurate, that's why. What they said isn't really relevant anyway.
> 
> Give suggestions! Give advice! Help a poor author out. Above all, give kudos and comments. I'm a big girl, I can take the critiques.


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